Republicans Respond to SOTU

While Nikki Haley gave the official response for the Republican Party to President Obama’s final State of the Union, other Republicans have been very vocal in their criticism of the president’s address. Here are some of the top responses:

Senator Ted Cruz decided not to attend the State of the Union, even though he is a member of Congress and his attendance was expected. As he is running for president, however, it seems that he thought his time would be more worthwhile on the campaign trail. He did, however, decide to comment on the speech, telling NBC the speech was, “less a State of the Union than it was a state of denial. President Obama demonstrated just out of touch he is.” This alluded to Obama’s statement that the economy is thriving, and there has been more job creation than previous years. Cruz said that as he has been traveling around America, this is not many Americans’ reality. He continued, “I’m hearing from young people who are coming out of school with student loans up to their eyeballs, and they can’t get a job.”

Senator Marco Rubio, who also is running for president, did decide to attend the State of the Union. He told Fox News that President Obama downplayed the threat of ISIS, and wrote on his Facebook page, “This president has been the single most divisive political figure this country has had over the last decade.” President Obama said in his speech, that one of his biggest regrets has been not better uniting both sides of the political aisle.

Donald Trump, who was not at the SOTU, made sure to tweet what he thought about the president’s speech, writing, “The #SOTU speech is really boring, slow, lethargic-very hard to watch.” This was retweeted 6,776 times. He followed up after it finished, tweeting, “The State of the Union speech was one of the most boring, rambling, and non-substantive I have heard in a long time. New leadership fast!” This was retweeted 5,774 times. Trump also received the most new Twitter followers during the SOTU than any other candidate.

Senator Joni Ernst, who delivered last years GOP SOTU response, wrote, “Last night’s State of the Union address was another campaign speech long on rhetoric and short on real solutions. In 2016 we need to elect a strong conservative leader to the White House who will get our country growing again, develop a comprehensive plan to destroy ISIS, and ensure America remains a strong, stabilizing forced around the globe.”

Senator Lisa Murkowski also talked about how President Obama is out of touch with the reality of many Americans. She wrote, “President Obama made a lot of claims in his last State of the Union address, but he seems to be out of touch with the reality that many Americans, and most Alaskans, are facing. In the last year of his presidency, President Obama has a choice to make. He can act alone to purse policies that will move our nation backwards or he can work with Congress to advance policies that benefit every American.”

Overall, the response from majority of Republicans is that President Obama’s final speech was similar to his campaign speeches, promising ideas with no plan of action. Furthermore, Republicans are discouraged that he diminished the threat of ISIS and other terrorist attacks, and made no mention of Iran holding 10 Navy sailors in their custody. And while the economy numbers appear to be better, and show that new jobs have been created, Americans across the country do not feel that their economic power has improved whatsoever, and continue to struggle to find jobs. Republicans are using this speech as an example of false hope, and encouraging voters to look to a leader with a real plan instead of empty promises.